1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to verifying a user's identity in web-based or on-line applications while preserving the user's privacy.
2. Description of Related Art
There are many different web-based applications and services that allow users to author and post content, as well as provide reviews and comments on such content. For instance, some encyclopedia-type services such as Google's Knol or Wikipedia allows users to author articles on various topics. And websites such as Amazon.com allow users to rate and review products that are offered for sale. Here, the users' reviews may themselves be ranked according to how helpful they are.
In this case, other users may rely on certain reviews not only because of the reviews themselves, but also because of who the reviewer is and rankings the reviewer has received. In some situations, the ranking may be low because of a lack of information about the reviewer.
Users often select screen names or user IDs when posting or reviewing content. This may be done for many reasons, including concerns about the users' privacy. Depending upon the application, the service provider may have some information concerning the user, such as credit card information. However, the user may not wish to share other personal information with the service provider. This limits the ability of the system to verify the identity of the user.